Scoring breakdown

It's been a tough few years for Honda, a brand that not long ago had aspirations of topping 100,000 sales locally but in 2012 will sell well under half that. Sharper pricing and additional equipment sprinkled across the range in the past couple of years have helped pop the well-regarded Japanese brand back on shopping lists, which makes the arrival of an all-new CR-V all the more important. The CR-V was one of the earlier soft-roaders and accounts for a big chunk of Honda sales.

For the first time, Honda is offering a two-wheel-drive version of its CR-V in Australia, bringing it into line with the vast majority of SUVs on sale here. That means a lower entry price for 2WD versions, which also make do with a smaller (2.0-litre), less powerful engine.